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APA UCLA - Scholarships & Giving

Since 1999, the Asian Pacific Alumni of UCLA (APA UCLA) has proudly awarded the Excellence in Community Service Scholarship to recognize outstanding undergraduate and graduate students at UCLA who demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing significant issues within the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community.

APA UCLA believes that the development and progress of the API community are made possible by individuals dedicated to creating thoughtful, lasting solutions to critical needs. Through these scholarships, APA UCLA aims to honor and uplift emerging leaders, fostering a lifelong spirit of service and community engagement.

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APA UCLA Endowed Scholarship Fund APA Undergraduate – Excellence in Community Service APA Graduate – Excellence in Community Service APA Sho Iino Accounting Scholarship APA Sam Lew Leadership Award

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2024 Scholarship Recipients

2024 APA UCLA Scholars with Kurt Wong ’90, Scholarship Committee Chair

MARGIA EMMANUELLE ADRIANO (she/they)

2024 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee 
Undergraduate Student | Class of 2024
Margia Emanuelle Adriano (she/they) is a 1.5 generation Pilipino-American and a first-generation college student raised on Gabrielino-Tongva land (Pomona). They are graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology, with a minor in Asian American Studies. During their time as an undergraduate, they were involved in several Asian American community organizations within and beyond UCLA’s campus, including Asian Pacific Coalition, Samahang Pilipino, AASD Undergraduate Leadership Committee, and Chinatown Community for Equitable Development. Margia Emanuelle will continue their organizing work post-graduation and intends to pursue their Master’s in Public Health and Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning at UCLA where they hope to combine their degree and organizing experience to uplift our communities. 

MARINA AINA (she/her)

2024 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee 
Graduate Student | Class of 2025
Marina Aina (she/her) is a mixed-race Sāmoan woman who grew up on Cahuilla and Luiseño land (which is in the Inland Empire area) in Southern California. Marina completed her undergraduate studies at Pomona College in 2023, receiving her B.A. in American Studies. During her time at the Claremont Colleges, she assisted in creating space and fostering community for Pasifika folks there, whether it was through her work with bringing STEP (Saturday Tongan Education Program) back in person following the pandemic or creating the first ever PSA (Pasifika Student Association) there. Currently in her first year of the Asian American Studies M.A. program, her research interests currently focus on militarization, foodways, and cultural agency and ingenuity for (American) Sāmoans in the United States. As Marina continues to move through her program, she hopes to get more involved with the Pasifika community in the greater Tovangaar (Los Angeles) area.  

DORIS CHEN (she/her/hers)

2024 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee 
Graduate Student | Class of 2025
Doris Chen (she/her/hers) graduated from National University of Singapore with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science and is currently a first year M.B.A. student at UCLA Anderson. Doris established Docway Education in 2021 with a vision to bring more medical education opportunities to the underserved student population, especially in the Asian community. From developing comprehensive learning materials to providing personalized consulting services for medical school applications, Doris’s mission was clear: to empower every student to realize their dream of pursuing medicine. As a current M.B.A. student at Anderson, Doris is poised to leverage the resources and network provided by UCLA Anderson to expand Docway Education's reach and impact and develop new initiatives to further support underrepresented students in pursuing their higher education in medicine and beyond.   

RYAN KHIEV (he/him)

2024 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee 
Undergraduate Student | Class of 2024
Ryan Khiev (he/him) is a third year UCLA student majoring in psychobiology with the goal of becoming a preventive medicine physician. As a second-generation Cambodian American, Ryan is involved in bringing Khmer stories to light to over 500 attendees by helping to produce annual cultural nights that highlight the beauty of Khmer culture while also addressing the past and present struggles of Cambodian people. He also devotes his efforts towards giving under-resourced students the tools they need to attain higher education through educational outreach programs, such as the Higher Opportunity Program for Education and Southeast Asian Admit Weekend. Ryan hopes to use these experiences in cultural advocacy and youth education programs throughout his medical journey to address the gap between healthcare and community, and to advocate for the overall health and wellbeing of his future patients.

SHO IINO ACCOUNTING SCHOLARSHIP

IRENE CHOI (she/her/hers)

2024 Sho Iino Accounting Scholarship Awardee 
Graduate Student | Class of 2025
Irene Choi (she/her/hers) is a Senior Vice President of Acquisitions at Red Stone Equity Partners, where she is responsible for the investment management, financial underwriting, and syndication of Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Previously, Irene spent three years at Wells Fargo in the Community Lending & Investments Group. Throughout her career, Irene has deployed over $1 billion in equity investments for affordable housing. As a member of the Steering Committee for the REACH (Recruit, Empower, Access, Connect, Hustle) Initiative at Urban Land Institute, she facilitates mentorship programs for BIPOC professionals. She also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at the Decro Group, a non-profit affordable housing development organization. Irene is a proud Angeleno and double Bruin. She graduated with a B.A. in International Development Studies and minor in Spanish and is currently an Executive M.B.A. candidate at UCLA Anderson. 

Past Recipients

Nancy Khuc | 2023 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee  

Undergraduate Senior | Class of 2023 
Nancy Khuc is a senior at UCLA majoring in Asian American Studies. She is the Historic Preservation Coordinator of the Asian Pacific Coalition, where she facilitates a class about community-based archives and the importance of liberatory memory work. She is currently working on her Asian American Studies honors thesis that explores the politics of care, specifically focusing on generational caregiving in Asian American families. Nancy plans to pursue an MLIS degree after graduation.

Brian Kohaya | 2023 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee    

Master of Urban Planning | Class of 2024
Brian Kohaya is a proud Double Bruin. He received his undergraduate degree in Asian American Studies and Psychology and is currently pursuing a Master of Urban and Regional Planning at the Luskin School of Public Affairs. He is focusing on housing and the community conflict that surrounds new housing development. In his free time, Brian is an active member of the Little Tokyo community and volunteers as a member of Project by Project.

Tara Kwan | 2023 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee  

Master of Social Welfare | Class of 2023 
Raised in Monterey Park and the proud daughter of Chinese immigrants, Tara Kwan (she/her) is a Master of Social Welfare student with an Area of Concentration in Health and Mental Health Across the Life Span and co-advocacy chair for the Luskin API Caucus. She supported elementary students at Alhambra Unified School District, API survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault at the Center for the Pacific Asian Family, and older adults in Huntington Health Senior Care Network through her MSW internships at UCLA. Prior to starting graduate school, Tara served as an AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer Recruiter at the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Program Manager at the Program for Torture Victims, and Secretary for OCA-Greater Los Angeles. She is passionate about immigrant, refugee, asylum seeker rights and API community issues.

Grace Ma | 2023 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee  

Undergraduate Senior | Class of 2023  
Hi! My name is Grace Ma and I'm a fourth year studying Computer Science at UCLA. I am involved in LA Blueprint, a club that focuses on creating applications and websites to serve nonprofits. Last year, I worked as a software developer on a mobile application with my team to facilitate the operations of API Forward Movement's Food Roots Harvest program. This program distributes culturally-relevant and nutritional produce from small farmers to food deserts and underserved communities. Access to nutritional food is something I strongly believe in, so I've also volunteered at food preparation and distribution organizations like the Hollywood Food Coalition, Project Angel Food, and Water Drop. Outside of school, I love to cook new recipes and explore Los Angeles!

Sai Priyanka Iragavarapu  | 2020 UCLA Asian Pacific Alumni Scholarship Awardee   

B.S. Statistics and Data Science, B.A. Economics, minor in Mathematics, Class of 2024 

 

Carolyn Chu | 2021-2022 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee  

Master of Urban and Regional Planning | Class of 2022   
Carolyn Chu is pursuing a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She is a member of API Equality-LA, which organizes community members at the intersection of LGBTQ and racial justice. She was co-chair of their steering committee, supporting the organization’s strategic visioning, planning and fundraising. Her professional background includes work in public health and nonprofit settings, primarily serving low-income populations and people experiencing homelessness. 

Michelle Le | 2021-2022 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee    

Undergraduate Student | Class of 2022   
Michelle Le is a rising junior majoring in public affairs with a double minor in education studies and Asian American studies. She intends to pursue a career in academic counseling and educational policy. This past year, Le has served as a SEA CLEAR peer counselor where she is able to offer support to different student populations, helped host UCLA’s first Southeast Asian Activism Week in order to facilitate community learning and advocacy and provided health education to API communities as a presenter at the Asian Pacific Health Corps (APHC) health fair. Her field of study, community involvement and activism, is rooted in her dedication and love for her community. 

Togitoto (Koko) Tofaeono-Malepeai | 2021-2022 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee

Master of Education | Class of 2022    
Togitoto (Koko) Tofaeono-Malepeai is a first-generation Samoan graduate student and an elementary educator striving for equity, liberation and joy in students' classrooms and community. She has years of experience in applied behavior analysis, working with neurodiverse kids and their families that has influenced her practice of centering social emotional learning. Tofaeono-Malepeai hopes that the impact she leaves on students, especially her Pacific Islander community, is one that inspires them to always step into their fullest potential and bring their best and truest self. 

Dome Lupac (he/him/his) | 2020-21 APA UCLA Excellence in Community Service Awardee | Graduate Student | Class of 2022  

Dome Lupac graduated with his Master of Public Health degree from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health with certificates in Global Health and Maternal and Child Health this past June. He immigrated from the Philippines to Carson, CA, in 2004. He received his BA in Public Health and Social Welfare from UC Berkeley. He is currently a Presidential Management Fellow working at the US Department of Agriculture supporting the implementation, management, and evaluation of school nutrition programs in the western United States. For hobbies, Dome enjoys going on hikes, traveling, cooking, dancing, staying physically active, and learning more about personal finance. 

Francine Winata | 2020-21 Sho Iino Accounting Scholarship | Class of 2023 

Francine Winata graduated from UCLA in Spring 2022 with a major in Business Economics and a minor in Accounting. Francine was first introduced to the world of accounting when she was a little girl living in Jakarta, Indonesia. During her first year at UCLA, she was involved in numerous organizations, such as the Association of Indonesian Americans, where she was the Co-Founder and External Vice President, and Beta Alpha Psi, where she was the Vice President of Finance. She is currently working at Deloitte as an Audit and Assurance Assistant in their Los Angeles office. During her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, hiking, cooking, reading, and watching TV shows and movies. 

ANGELA LI
Undergraduate | UCLA College of Letters & Sciences | Class of 2021
Angela Li is a rising senior double majoring in Asian American Studies and Political Science with an interest in pursuing a career in public interest law. Angela is currently the director of the Asian Pacific Coalition and the Campus Retention Committee. At the intersection of both of her majors, Angela has done research on hate crimes legislation, human trafficking of Asian women, and is working on her Asian American Studies honor thesis, which studies the relationship between xenophobia and public health.

NGOC NGUYEN
Undergraduate | UCLA College of Letters & Sciences | Class of 2021
Ngoc Nguyen is a UCLA senior majoring in Asian American Studies, International Development Studies, and Sociology. This year, Ngoc worked with Southeast Asian student leaders at UCLA to create the Southeast Asian Students for OrgaNizing (SEASON) conference, the first three-day two-night conference for Southeast Asian students, that brought together around 200 students to strategize effective campus-based actions to support their community. In addition to her involvement with SEASON, Ngoc has also served as President of the UCLA Vietnamese Student Union, an intern with the Thai Community Development Center and Nikkei Progressives, and a volunteer at the Los Angeles Stanley Mosk courthouse.

GERRLYN GACAO
Graduate | UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs | Class of 2021
A Filipinx and Chinese American born and raised in Stockton, CA, Gerrlyn Gacao is a second-year student at UCLA Luskin’s Master of Urban and Regional Planning program. She spent the majority of her activism in San Diego for nearly a decade, where she organized for border rights, immigrants’ rights, police accountability, and racial justice with the ACLU. She was also involved in efforts with various grassroots AAPI-led organizations around housing justice and boosting voter engagement. Now living in Los Angeles, Gerrlyn has been able to intentionally commit herself to working more deeply on her larger passions: advancing tenants’ rights, de-commodifying structures in our economic and housing systems, and advancing community ownership of land.

CHLOE KIM
Graduate | David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA| Class of 2022
Chloe Hyejoon Kim is a first-generation medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a proud double Bruin who graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Psychobiology in 2016. She is passionate about addressing health disparities and wants to practice primary care in underserved communities. As a medical student, she organizes free health fairs in API communities with Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association, serves asylum seekers with Los Angeles Human Rights Initiative, and advocates for student wellbeing in Medical Student Council.

DANIEL LUU
Graduate | UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs| Class of 2021
Daniel Luu graduated from UCLA undergraduate majoring in Asian American Studies and minoring in Urban and Regional Studies, and is currently earning his Master’s in Urban Planning at the Luskin School of Public Affairs. He will be the first in his family to attain a Master’s degree. His focus and interest revolve around working with the Southeast Asian community (Cambodian, Vietnamese, Laotian) to combat various social issues overlooked by the general public such as gentrification, deportation, and education attainment. Through Daniel’s coursework, he is now seeking to further understand how urban infrastructure and design can be reclaimed by BIPOCs through aspects of storytelling, cultural arts, and participatory planning. This type of work has led Daniel towards finding his own identity to become an empowered community activist working towards healing both his family’s and community’s trauma.

SHO IINO ACCOUNTING SCHOLARSHIP

KELLY JIANG
Undergraduate | Class of 2021
Kelly Jiang discovered her passion for accounting after competing in high school FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America). She has interned at Ernst & Young in the San Francisco office and hopes to pursue an audit career in the technology/biotechnology industries. She enjoys staying active by swimming, hiking, and running. In her free time, she likes to bake desserts, volunteer at the animal shelter, and go to concerts.

VINCE LEUS
Graduate | UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs | Class of 2020
Vince Leus is a Filipino American graduate student in urban planning at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs. As a first-generation college student, Vince is passionate about democratizing urban planning and engaging underrepresented communities to become active participants in the equitable development of their neighborhoods.

CHRISTINE TRAN 
Undergraduate | UCLA College of Letters & Sciences | Class of 2020
Christine Tran is a senior at UCLA majoring in International Development Studies and Asian American Studies. Christine is a former fellow of LA Councilwoman Nury Martinez's Ready for Women Fellowship and CAUSE's Leadership Academy. She was a director for API Forward Movement's Vote at 16-SGV Campaign, and has also interned with Planned Parenthood and Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles.

JOSEPH NGUYEN
Undergraduate | UCLA College of Letters & Sciences | Class of 2020
Joseph Nguyen is a senior at UCLA majoring in Human Biology & Society and Asian Languages/Linguistics . Joseph currently researches intergenerational trauma in Southeast Asian-Americans and heritage language acquisition in Asian American communities. At UCLA, he is involved with the Southeast Asian community and will serve as the 2019-2020 president of the Vietnamese Student Union.

JAZZ KIANG
Graduate | UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies | Class of 2021
Jazz Kiang is a doctoral student in the UCLA Higher Education & Organizational Change program. A double Bruin, Jazz previously completed his undergraduate degree in Asian American Studies. Jazz has led several campus committees and student organizations, including the Student Fee Advisory Committee, and Asian Pacific Coalition. He authored the Social Justice Referendum — and spearheaded the final student campaign for UCLA's undergraduate Diversity Requirement.

HEIDI TUASON
Graduate | UCLA Fielding School of Public Health | Class of 2019
Heidi T. Tuason is a DrPH student in Community Health Sciences with focuses in Health Policy & Management and Asian American Studies. She worked as a community health planner with immigrant communities of color, particularly Latino, Samoan, Filipino, Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian communities in the Bay Area.

CHLOE PAN
Undergraduate | UCLA College of Letters & Sciences| Class of 2018
Chloe Pan is a double major in International Development Studies and Asian American Studies. She serves as External Vice President of the UCLA Undergraduate Students Association Council and Resident Assistant for the UCLA Public Service Living Community. After she completes her research on the experiences of migrant workers in the food service industry, she will be joining the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as a civil rights fellow.

SHARON YUEN
Undergraduate | UCLA College of Letters & Sciences| Class of 2020
Sharon Yeun is a second-year Asian American Studies major and Global Health minor. She aspires to become an OBGYN that specialize in underserved minority communities and a progressive community leader. On campus, Yeun is involved with Asian Pacific Coalition, Asian Pacific American Health Care, student government and residential life.

APA EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD

NATALIE BAGAPORO
Undergraduate | UCLA College of Letters & Sciences | Class of 2018
Natalie Ricasa Bagaporo is a 2nd generation Pinay pursuing degrees in Human Biology,
Society, and Genetics and Asian American Studies. Natalie serves as the President of
Samahang Pilipino where she works to fuse her passions for the Filipino community,
community organizing, and public health.

VALERIE VARGAS
Undergraduate | UCLA College of Letters & Sciences | Class of 2019
Valerie Vargas is a queer, 1.5 generation Pinay who’s currently a second year
undergraduate working towards a degree in Asian American Studies with a Pilipino
concentration at UCLA. Valerie is currently a student-leader in Samahang Pilipino and
Asian Pacific Coalition. They are also a full-time dog enthusiast on the side.

RAMANDEEP KAUR
Graduate | UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs | Class of 2019
Ramandeep Kaur is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Policy at the UCLA
Luskin School of Public Affairs concentrating in Urban Development and Social
Policy. She completed her Undergraduate degree in Political Science and Ethnic
Studies from University of California, Berkeley.

MIKE MANALO-PEDRO
Graduate | UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies
Mike Manalo-Pedro is currently a doctoral student in the Education Leadership
Program at UCLA. He also oversees the Undocumented Students Services at Cal
Poly Pomona. He’s previously worked at community organizations such as Asian
Americans Advancing Justice LA. Mike is a firm believer in immigrant justice and
educational equity.

SHO IINO ACCOUNTING SCHOLARSHIP

JAMES OWN SETIADI
Undergraduate | UCLA College of Letters & Sciences | Class of 2017
James Owen Setiadi discovered his interest in accounting after competing in high
school DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) competitions. In 2015, he
became the California DECA State Champion in accounting. In his free time, James
enjoys swimming, reading, cartooning and volunteering at the Aquarium of the
Pacific in Long Beach, CA.

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